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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: net · shower · coach · patient · content · tube · snap · ground

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — happy
  4. snap — to click
  5. net — in sport
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. shower — to wash
  10. tube — a container
  11. net — after costs
  12. ground — a position
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. tube — the underground
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — the earth
  19. net — for catching
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. content — the amount
  24. patient — calm and waiting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com